Traditionally, small medical items that may be used in a medical procedure are stored in designated slots or receptacles in a medical item tray. Such trays can be difficult and time consuming to manage. Some medical items, such as implant screws, are rather small and usually have no identification information printed on them. Typically, there are multiple quantities and sizes of such screws to manage. When such a medical item is removed from its original packaging to be placed in a tray, the item's packaging and other manufacturing information are usually separated from the item and discarded. Some medical items in a tray may be used and replaced frequently, while others may reside untouched in the tray for years.
There is currently no method for maintaining serialized identification information for medical items in a tray that have been separated from their packaging, or for providing traceability for such medical items in the event of a recall.
What is needed, therefore, is a system for visually designating and assigning a particular location in a medical item tray in which to place a specific medical item while restocking the tray, and for associating the serialized identification information of each medical item with its assigned location in the tray.